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What a fantastic final week Crew Brunel has had to round off their first half term of Year 10! As we settle into KS4 and begin our GCSE journey, there has been so much to praise and celebrate, with crew members continuing to show their hard work, creativity and commitment to their learning.
Our 2D Art group has been producing some wonderful artwork, showing creativity, attention to detail and a real willingness to develop their artistic skills. It has been brilliant to see their ideas come to life and their confidence grow as they experiment with different techniques.
A special shout-out goes to Brooke, our Photographer of the Week! Brooke has been taking some really interesting still-life photographs of everyday objects, demonstrating her developing skills in composition and depth of field. It is fantastic to see her looking at ordinary objects in creative ways and using photography to capture them from different perspectives. Well done, Brooke!
There has also been some excellent work taking place across our English, History and Science sessions. Crew members have been building their knowledge, developing their understanding and putting effort into their GCSE preparation. Starting Year 10 is an important step, and it has been great to see so many students beginning to embrace the challenge and recognise the importance of the hard work and dedication needed to succeed.
As we head into the half-term break, I want to celebrate all the positive steps Crew Brunel has taken over these first few weeks of KS4. There is so much potential within this crew, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone continue to grow, challenge themselves and achieve great things over the coming months.
For now, it is time to enjoy a well-deserved rest, recharge our batteries and spend some time doing the things we enjoy. We will return after the break refreshed, ready to build on our successes and continue working hard towards our GCSE goals.
Well done, Crew Brunel, on a brilliant first half term of Year 10. Have a lovely half-term break!
What an exciting time it has been for our Crew! We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have officially launched our new Crew name… CREW HAMILTON!
This is much more than just choosing a name. It is about creating an identity, building a sense of belonging and celebrating what makes our Crew so special.
We chose to name our Crew after Lewis Hamilton because he is not only a successful Formula 1 driver, but also someone who represents all of our Crew character values.
He shows respect by treating others fairly and standing up for what he believes in.
He demonstrates compassion by caring for others and using his voice to make a positive difference.
He shows integrity by staying true to himself and doing what is right, even when it is difficult.
He demonstrates courage by overcoming challenges, breaking barriers and never giving up on his dreams.
Finally, he represents craftsmanship and quality through his hard work, dedication and determination to always be the best he can be.
A Crew to Be Proud Of!
At the heart of everything we do is our belief that we are stronger together. Every child brings something unique to our Crew, and together we are learning to support one another, celebrate our successes, overcome challenges and aim high!
Our new name, Crew Hamilton, represents the beginning of an exciting journey. It is a name we can grow with, take pride in and make our own.
We want every child to feel that they belong, that their voice matters and that they play an important part in making Crew Hamilton the very best it can be.
We Are Crew, Not Passengers!
In Crew Hamilton, we know that being part of a Crew means looking out for each other, showing kindness, demonstrating courage and always striving to be the best versions of ourselves.
We will encourage one another when things get tricky, cheer each other on when we succeed and remember that every achievement, no matter how small, deserves to be celebrated.
The launch of Crew Hamilton is just the beginning! We cannot wait to build our Crew identity, create wonderful memories and show our school community exactly what makes us special.
To our parents, thank you for being part of our journey. Your encouragement and support mean so much as we help our children grow in confidence, character and independence.
There are exciting times ahead, and we are ready to embrace every opportunity!
Today I had the pleasure of visiting XP and XP East to complete English walk throughs and review our students’ books.
Across year 7, with both Mrs Poncia and Miss Johnson, I was able to see some beautiful narratives being carefully crafted. Students were incorporating a range of tier 2 vocabulary and were redrafting key paragraphs based on specific feedback from their teacher. It was fantastic to see the students so engaged and working so meticulously.
In year 8, Mr Wilmot’s Explorer class showed superb recall of key details from their anchor text. They were all working diligently and offering wonderful contributions and ideas. Their books were also very good and showed some high levels of productivity.
In year 9, Miss Wilkinson and her Pioneer class were considering how the character of Jack had changed from the beginning of Lord of the Flies to chapter 8. They could clearly recall key events and were curious when asking clarifying questions about key vocabulary. They then used this vocabulary to support their choices about the character. Additionally, the maps they have created of the island are fantastic!
Finally in year 10, both Ms Cross and Miss Buckley’s Skipper and Explorer classes were grappling with annotating a key poem from their GCSE anthologies. In Skipper students offered some stunning inferences carefully considering the context and motivations of the poets. Whereas in Explorer students summarised key contextual information on the background of Wilfred Owen and practiced their subject terminology skills.
All in all it was a pleasure to be in all these classrooms. In every room the atmosphere was positive and enthusiastic and students were engaged.
Well done Team English from Mrs Desborough (Trust Leader of English)
As part of National T Levels Week 2026, Amazing Apprenticeships is hosting a dedicated webinar for parents and carers to help explain what T Levels are, how they differ from other post-16 options, and where they can lead.
The session will include David Scott, T Levels Lead at the Department for Education, alongside a parent sharing their own experience of supporting a young person through the T Level route.
T Levels Week Parent and Carer Webinar: Understanding T Levels Tuesday 20 October 2026 6:30pm–7:15pm
Even if you cannot attend live, we would still encourage you to register, as all registrants will receive access to the webinar recording and slides afterwards.
This is a useful opportunity for families to find out more about one of the technical education routes available after Year 11 and to support conversations at home about future options.
We are looking forward to welcoming students in Years 9, 10 and 11 to our upcoming Careers Fair, giving them the opportunity to speak directly with a range of colleges, training providers, employers and organisations about their next steps beyond XP.
The aim of the afternoon is to help students explore the different routes available after secondary school, ask questions, compare options and begin making informed decisions about what might suit them best. For Year 10, the afternoon will also include a short soft launch of Work Experience 2027, encouraging students to start noticing sectors, organisations and opportunities that may interest them in the future.
We are pleased to have a broad range of confirmed providers attending, including Doncaster College, New College Doncaster, Outwood Academy Danum Post 16, Club Doncaster Foundation Sports College, Active Fusion, the RAF, South Yorkshire Police and the National Horseracing College.
Each provider brings something different, from A Levels and vocational courses to apprenticeships, specialist training, public-service careers and employment routes. We want students to use the opportunity to ask meaningful questions about entry requirements, courses, progression, apprenticeships, practical experience and what they could be doing now to prepare for their next step.
Year 11 parents and carers
We would particularly like to invite Year 11 parents and carers to join us for the final part of the fair.
From 3.30pm until 4:45pm, Year 11 families are welcome to drop in and speak with providers alongside their child. This is an opportunity to have a longer conversation about possible next steps after XP, including college courses, sixth-form options, apprenticeships, specialist provision and other routes.
For some students, knowing what comes next already feels quite clear. For others, there may still be lots of questions. Both are completely normal at this stage. Having students, families and providers in the same room gives everyone the chance to hear the same information, ask questions together and begin making plans with greater confidence.
Please note that the after-school parent/carer drop-in is for Year 11 families only.
We are really looking forward to seeing students making connections, asking good questions and beginning to make their futures a little more visible.
What a busy week it has been for Crew Brunel! We have certainly packed a lot into Crew this week, with plenty of opportunities to learn, reflect, celebrate and work together.
From getting creative with scrapbooking and looking back at our memories and experiences, to learning how to say “hello” in all 19 languages spoken by our students and staff at XP Doncaster, there has been lots going on! We have also been celebrating the success of Year 10 so far as part of our Crew Phase. It is important to take time to recognise the progress we have made, the challenges we have overcome and the hard work that has gone into getting us to where we are now. There is still plenty of hard work ahead, but there is also lots to be proud of! Alongside this, Crew Brunel have been getting stuck into some People’s Health revision this week, working together to revisit key knowledge and test our understanding.
This week’s special shout-out has to go to David!
Last weekend, David joined some of our Year 10 students and staff to complete a 5K run in support of Young Lives vs Cancer. It was fantastic to hear that our students challenged themselves while raising awareness and money for such an important cause. A huge well done to David for getting involved and completing the 5K — you should be incredibly proud! And a massive well done to everyone who took part and helped make the event such a success.
If you are able to donate a few pounds to support the fundraising effort, it would be hugely appreciated. Every donation, big or small, can make a difference.
This week’s Thoughtful Thursday gave Crew Brunel the opportunity to pause, reflect and think carefully about how we have started our Year 10 journey.
As we begin preparing for our GCSEs, developing good habits, taking ownership of our learning and understanding our strengths and areas for improvement are becoming increasingly important. Our session focused on exactly that – taking responsibility for where we are now and thinking about where we want to go next.
We began with our first round of HoWL reflections. Students self-assessed their progress across each of our three HoWLs: Work Hard, Get Smart and Be Kind. They used the HoWL rubric to RAG-rate themselves and awarded themselves a grade for each area. Once completed, students calculated their overall HoWL average, giving them a clear picture of their current strengths and areas for development as they settle into Key Stage 4.
The important part came next – setting SMART targets. With GCSE preparation now underway, students identified specific areas they wanted to improve and thought about practical steps they could take to develop their learning habits and make progress.
We then switched things around and moved on to peer assessment. Students assessed each other’s HoWLs based on what they have seen from their peers in sessions so far. They followed the same process of RAG-rating, grading and calculating an average, before finishing by setting a target for someone in their class. This encouraged students to consider how their actions and attitudes are seen by others, while also thinking about how they can support their peers to improve.
To finish the session, we looked back at our praises and conducts from the week and completed our SOS analysis. We celebrated the successes shown on our Crew leaderboard, recognised individual achievements and reflected on some of the conducts that had been recorded. Students were encouraged to think about what had gone well, what we wondered about and what we could do differently moving forward.
Finally, we selected two students to set pledges for next term, giving them a clear personal focus to work on and develop as we continue through Year 10.
Roan – ” I pledge to complete all of my extended study tasks to the best of my ability and make sure they are submitted on time to help improve my Get Smart HoWL from a 2.5 to a 3. “
Brooke – ” I pledge to arrive on time every day this term, helping me improve my Work Hard HoWL from a 3 to a 3.5. “
A really thoughtful and purposeful session from Crew Brunel. As we take our first steps into KS4 and GCSE preparation, it was great to see students reflecting honestly, taking ownership of their progress and thinking about the small changes they can make now to help them succeed in the future.
The last few weeks have completely flown by, and that is largely down to just how much awesome work Year 8 have been producing. They have been absolutely blowing my mind with the start they have made to their new expedition, Being Human.
We began with immersion, with students being challenged to think hard, spot patterns and make connections without yet knowing exactly where the expedition was heading..
One of the biggest moments was our fieldwork to Danes Dyke, where students took part in fossil hunting. On the surface, it looked like the expedition might be heading in the direction of dinosaurs, but that was all part of the mystery. The fossils encouraged students to think scientifically about evidence from the past, while also using mathematical thinking to compare, measure and look for patterns in what they found. It was a brilliant red herring and got students questioning how all of these different experiences might eventually connect. A huge appreciation to Mr Heslop for his fantastic organisation of this fieldwork.
Then came the big reveal..
Students took part in an amazing (and patience testing) puzzle and scratch-card adventure, working together to uncover clues and piece together how their individual words linked to a much bigger picture. Across Year 8, students were able to make connections, test ideas and begin to see where the expedition was heading.
And finally, our Guiding Question was revealed:
What does it mean to be human?
Since then, X33 Skipper and E33 Pioneer have been producing some absolutely brilliant work.
Students have been taking real pride in their books and producing beautiful work with strong Craftsmanship and Quality. The level of thinking in lessons has been just as beautiful. Class discussions have been thoughtful, respectful and full of really interesting ideas as students begin to grapple with identity, belief, religion, experience and what all of these things can tell us about being human.
A special shout-out has to go to Roza, who shared some of her own experiences and understanding of religion and belief with the class. Her contribution gave us even more knowledge and perspective to grapple with and really enriched the discussion.
You may also have seen on other blogs that our brilliant Year 8 staff team, alongside the amazing Mrs Mawby, have been getting out into the Doncaster community and visiting residents in local residential care homes.
Students have been getting to know individual residents, listening to their stories and beginning to piece together their life experiences. This gives them another powerful way into our Guiding Question: what can someone’s memories, relationships, experiences, challenges and achievements teach us about what it means to be human?
Students will use what they learn from these conversations to create a beautiful gift for the residents they have worked with, which will be delivered closer to Christmas.
There is already so much to celebrate, and we are only at the beginning!!
Year 8, you are absolutely smashing it. Watch this space..
What a fantastic first week back for Crew Brunel! We have packed a lot into our first week, with opportunities to build our crew community, develop new skills, explore Doncaster and prepare for the challenges of KS4.
DAY 1
We kicked off the week by rebooting crew, reconnecting with each other and establishing our KS4 norms and expectations. We also launched our exciting Micro Adventure, where students would explore Doncaster through an A–Z challenge.
We also took part in inter-crew activities, competing in a range of fun and slightly unusual challenges, including balancing a ping-pong ball on a spoon in our mouths and throwing and catching a potato using a fork! These activities gave students the chance to have fun, work together and build relationships with students from their crew.
We then finished the day by beginning our preparation for our job interviews, with students exploring six different job roles and selecting the one they were most interested in applying for. They began considering the skills, qualities and experience they could bring to their chosen role, ready for their interviews later in the week.
DAY 2
On Tuesday, we headed into Doncaster town centre for our Micro Adventure, completing a range of fun and challenging activities. These included performing the can-can outside somewhere beginning with C, hugging a tree, handing out thank-you postcards to local services, and spreading some positivity by giving flowers to members of the public. It was a great opportunity to explore our local community, step outside our comfort zones and bring a little joy to the people of Doncaster.
Back at school, we continued our interview preparation by creating CVs and cover letters for our chosen job roles. Students had to think carefully about their skills, strengths, interests and experiences, and consider how these could be presented to a potential employer. This helped students build their confidence and independence, while giving them a better understanding of what employers look for when applying for a job.
DAY 3
Wednesday was a creative and exciting day! We launched our Future Fashion project, challenging students to think about sustainability and how recycled materials could be transformed into innovative and practical workwear. Students worked collaboratively to design and create their outfits, using their creativity to turn everyday recyclable materials into something completely new.
Students also took part in interviews with external staff, giving them the opportunity to put their communication, confidence and interview skills into practice in a realistic setting. It was fantastic to see students stepping outside of their comfort zones and showcasing what they could do.
We ended the day with our fashion show, where students proudly took to the runway to showcase their incredible creations and celebrate all of their hard work!
DAY 4
Thursday focused on preparation, reflection and learning. Students began preparing for the POL community meeting on Friday by creating a short script about everything they had done during their first week back. This gave them the opportunity to reflect on the different experiences they had taken part in and decide what they wanted to share with the wider school community.
We then explored a range of different revision techniques, looking at how everyone learns differently and how students can find strategies that work best for them when remembering important information for their GCSEs. Students had the chance to try out different approaches and consider which ones they could use in their own revision.
We finished the day with our Science immersion, where we began getting an insight into what we will be learning next week. This helped students to start thinking about the new topics they will be exploring and prepare themselves for the learning ahead.
DAY 5
We finished the week with a Presentation of Learning (POL) community meeting, where crews from each year group came together to share what they had been doing during their first week back at school. It was a great way to celebrate the start of the new school year and hear about what other crews had been getting up to.
We then moved into our History immersion, where we began exploring the history of Doncaster Plant Works. Students started to learn about the importance of the Plant Works to Doncaster and began completing the first section of their work booklets, building their knowledge and understanding of the site.
We ended the week on a high with our English immersion, where we watched A Christmas Carol. While watching, students made notes on important plot points, characters and key events, helping them to begin developing their understanding of the story and preparing for the learning we will continue next week in English.
It has been a busy but brilliant first week for Crew Brunel. From exploring Doncaster and preparing for the world of work to designing sustainable fashion and developing our academic skills, students have already shown creativity, confidence, teamwork and a real readiness for KS4. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings!
